Strangers

Author: Lysis & Hyakinthos the Cat (because he insisted and suggested the idea in the first place), January 2012 ***I am reposting this story with a few tiny changes.

Note: A man named, Jared rescues a badly injured mysterious blond haired stranger in modern day San Francisco and has an interesting adventure.

Friendship/Comfort/Angst and more….and yeah, some sex.

CHAPTER ONE

The day had turned a bit cold as the fog blew in from the Pacific, and the slender, blond haired man shivered drawing what looked like a muddied blanket about him. San Francisco in October was often warm, but he wouldn't have known that, as he had never been there before. The man stumbled over something, caught himself and kept on walking or trying to before he fell to the soft grass and finally gave way the to exhaustion that had been getting worse with each passing moment. He must have reached Elysium because the place where he found himself was a beautiful garden paradise, sweet with the heady scent of blooming trees and flowers, thick, soft green grass and even a small pond was nearby. He licked his lips…water. He frowned a bit something didn't make sense, if he was in Elysium then why….?

He could still feel the blood running from the head wound and his vision was blurry. As he closed his eyes, his last thoughts were on someone very dear to him, someone he doubted he would ever see again.

"Hey, hey, man, come on wake up." What seemed like moments later, the blond haired stranger blinked his eyes and pushed away at the hands shaking him. A familiar smell accompanied the hands; sandalwood and he relaxed a bit, but then tensed up as the shaking continued. He muttered something and with a clenched fist smacked away the invading hands that seemed to be insulting his person.

"Owh, shit! That hurt! I'm only trying to help you. Did you get mugged? What happened? Come on, let's get you to an ER, you need some help. You're bleeding all over the place." Again, the blond haired man struck out this time, but he had grown so weak his fingers got caught in the long tresses of hair and he grasped onto them tightly. Wearily he opened his eyes to find another set of eyes, a shade of the delphinium flower, a rich deep blue he loved so much staring back at him. He shook his head and blinked several times, his hand still clutching the tresses. He muttered several words in a language his rescuer could not understand, but he did understand one thing, this man, whoever he was, was badly injured, a head injury by the looks of it and unless he did something to help him he doubted the man would live.

Dialing 911, his rescuer called for an ambulance. While he waited, he studied the man lying prone on the ground before him. By the looks of him he had clearly been in a fight of some kind, his clothing reeked with scent of blood and he had several gashes and cuts all over his hands, arms and even his legs and feet. He sat stunned, he had never in his life seen anyone injured so badly, the man looked like he'd been in a battle, but that, of course, was impossible. The man's eyes were half-closed and his breathing shallow.

Plunging back to his knees, his rescuer reached for the water bottle in his pack. "Thank God, I decided to go jogging today in Golden Gate Park, my friend." He muttered to himself as he bent over and lifted the man's head so he could drink. "No, slowly, just a bit at a time." The man coughed and sputtered a lot but drank most of the full bottle. He gave him a frail smile in thanks but just the simple act of drinking the water had exhausted him.

"Hurry the fuck up, you guys!" The man with began wishing the ambulance would just magically appear. He began to pace concerned the guy looked real bad. He turned away, going down toward the road, but something made him turn back and he knelt down against by the stranger's side.

"He's wearing greaves, what the fuck?" Jared, an entertainer by trade knew something about ancient armor and studied the man more closely. Gently, with great care he opened up the muddied blanket, which he had realized was a cloak of some sort and found himself staring at a badly dented breastplate. He was just able to make out the snake headed figure of a woman's horribly contorted face. For a moment, Jared looked around. As far as he knew no one was shooting a period flick in the area so where….? He bent toward the man again and taking a handkerchief spit on it and begin carefully to wipe away the blood from the still face.

For a moment he did nothing but sat back staring at the man in disbelief. It couldn't' be, a resemblance to be sure, that as common enough, but it was so strong it was uncanny. The hair, at least that which wasn't covered with blood was blond and curly, the face just like the statutes he had seen a hundred times in books and the museums he'd studied when he'd played a character in a film based on the man this one resembled. There were some differences, the nose was bit larger than most of the statues had shown, but the face was nearly identical. He looked at the man's lips. They were just like the one's he seen on the statues, beautiful, full lips. For a moment, he had the strongest inclination to touch them, then shook himself. Where had that come from?

Jared looked down and picking up the man's right hand studied the large seal set in gold on the man's index finger. "Holy shit!" He exclaimed just as the scream of the siren came toward him. Before he could stop himself, before he even thought about it the words came tumbling out of his mouth.

"Alexander, ah, Alexandros?" The man opened his eyes, his odd eyes, which Jared hadn't really noticed before; they were both a blue-grey, but one clearly darker, while the other more grey and stared directly into his. Something seemed to pass between them as they stared at one another and Jared felt a frisson of electricity pass down his spine.

"Alexandros?" Jared repeated again and instead of smiling his mouth fell open as the man nodded his head in agreement. He had also said something, but Jared doubted it was anything he would have known, it sounded a little like okay or ochhi. He was still staring at him mesmerized when the man lifted a hand toward his face and touched a finger toward his cheek.

"Hefestion?" Jared jerked back started, he knew the name or the sound of it, it wasn't pronounced the way he had heard it in the movie but he knew enough to know whose name it was.

"Hefestion, ….."

"Alexandros?" Jared took his hand in his not understanding anything that Alexandros had said, but knew in his heart who this man was who lay on the ground so badly bloodied and injured before him. Why or how he had gotten here he did know not nor did he care. He knew there were many things in the Universe that were inexplicable. All that mattered now was to help this man…Alexandros.

To be continued…..